Chapter 1751 — Hanging by a Thread
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Bang! With a deafening crash, Wei Zhao's fists clashed once more against You Shisan's palms. Every collision dealt him a blow that could prove fatal, and by now Wei Zhao was a spent arrow at the end of its flight. That last palm strike nearly made him throw up his own internal organs.
Yet Wei Zhao did not yield. He clenched his teeth against the agonizing pain coursing through his body and took the blow head-on. His mouth was full of bloody froth, but his words rang out like stones striking the ground: "You can leave, but if you take her with you, I will fight you to the death!"
"..." You Shisan was truly cowed by Wei Zhao. This time he could clearly feel that the bones in his palms had cracked far worse than before. If he kept fighting, he could certainly beat Wei Zhao to death, but what good would killing him do? And what if his hands were ruined for good?
He shot Wei Zhao a glance, drew a deep breath, and without a word hauled Kang Jingming up and fled the place at once. As for Guan Xin, he had no stomach for capturing her now; it was not worth crossing wills with a madman like Wei Zhao...
Wei Zhao's somewhat gaunt figure stood there without moving, glaring after You Shisan until he had gone far away. Only then did he suddenly cough up a mouthful of fresh blood.
That was close! Wei Zhao thought to himself.
Only sheer conviction had held him up. If he had fallen, both Guan Xin and he would have been finished, so Wei Zhao had gritted his teeth and endured. He had seen You Shisan's misgivings, and so he had fought all the more recklessly, with no thought for his own life. Fortunately, You Shisan had been the first to falter; he had given up.
Wei Zhao set his jaw, tore the ropes from Guan Xin's body, and ripped the gag from her mouth...
"Wei Zhao..." Guan Xin cried out instinctively, tears streaming down her face like a thread.
But Wei Zhao waved a hand to cut her off and said urgently, "I can't hold on much longer. Tang Zhi's car is outside, under the shade of the trees on the left..."
With that, Wei Zhao collapsed to the ground...
This time, Wei Zhao could not rise again. He had made certain that You Shisan was gone, and with no more worries in his heart, he could hold on no longer.
Apart from his palms, there was not a single part of his body that was uninjured. At the instant he lost consciousness, Wei Zhao entered the long-unvisited jade pendant space.
"Phew..." Wei Zhao could finally breathe easy. So long as his life was not lost, there was still a chance to recover.
Only after arriving in the jade pendant space did Wei Zhao feel the full weight of his fear. This time he had come within a hair's breadth of losing his life; his escape had been pure luck. For one thing, You Shisan had not known his true depths. Seeing Wei Zhao rise to his feet again and again, he had been frightened by Wei Zhao's madness.
Yet Wei Zhao knew that if he had faced not You Shisan today, but someone who bore him a deep hatred, this day would not have ended so easily. And if You Shisan had practiced a martial art that relied not on his palms alone, but one supplemented by kicks and footwork, or one that made use of weapons, then no matter how desperately Wei Zhao fought today, it would have been useless.
All along, Wei Zhao had prided himself on being able to fight opponents above his level, and what he relied on was his trump card of compressed true qi. That card had served him well everywhere, letting him face even stronger experts with perfect composure. But today it had left him with a profound sense of defeat.
Above the Earth rank was truly something else altogether! If an opponent possessed a martial skill and opened the fight with it, Wei Zhao's advantage would vanish entirely, and he could only rely on hot blood to fight for his life. This time he had been lucky; next time he might well be dead.